”Mu eallin” – genrens funktion i Mikael Niemis roman Koka björn

Abstract

This master’s thesis studies the functions of the genres in Swedish author Mikael Niemi’s novel To Cook a Bear (2017). The plot is set in Kengis in 1852 and is told through two protagonists: the priest and Jussi Sieppinen. The priest is a fictionalization of the priest, botanist, and revivalist preacher Lars Levi Laestadius. Jussi is a fictional character. The novel’s genre is a hybridization, where each genre has a function: historical novels show a historical theme, and the role of the crime novel is to maintain and create tension but also give structure to the skeleton of the plot. In the novel of developing, Jussi is told as a young Sami man who, during a prison stay, writes a life story. The genres in the novel complement each other, but sometimes competition arises. In the cook of the bear, that relates to the title, are differences between genres dissolved in a scene that can be likened to a carnival. The study uses Alastair Fowler’s genre theory that the development of the genre should be seen in the light of the family resemblance as well as Jean-Marie Schaeffer’s observation of genre hybridization, as well as Brian Attebery’s use of fuzzy set-theory. Gérard Genette’s concept of hypotexuality is used and the hypotext grafted is by Umberto Eco’s novel The Name of the Rose.